"Short but intense" has been the theme so far... really intense, especially today!photo at right: New Bern High School NJROTC cadets rigging up FJs #1 thru #4 at Bridgeton Harbor... you can see New Bern's grain elevator on the far bank of the river.
This summer's goal has been to not only gain sailing time, but also to cover some academics on technical skills like radio communication, general vessel structure, and a few other things we have not had a chance to cover in the basic course this past spring.
We have done that... today we practiced radio protocol, studied some technical aspects of what radio is, how it works... statements from the cadets began with "it uses electricity" and rose to the level of describing wave modulation to convey information... and what radio can do. We have used hand-held VHF radios a few times in the sailing course, and some of the cadets are ready to add it their list of skills mastered.
Yesterday (Monday) we had good winds of 10~12 knots, the FJs could plane in the gusts. It was a day that definitely rewarded good skills, and sought to punish (or at least embarrass) mistakes. Today the weather took a turn for the worse!
A rain squall caused a delay, which we used for shore lessons. The boats were ready to launch & sail by 1515 (that's quarter after 3 pm) which is still a bit sooner than we have launched in the past... we are getting better at rigging up!
The sky was partly cloudy, some growing cumulus but nothing threatening. Since there was predicted a 50-50 chance of thunderstorms, we had our weather eyes tuned up & scanning. After we got started, the wind built up to 15 ~ 18 knots out of the South-South-West, bringing real choppy conditions & solid whitecaps across the Neuse River.
Of the 4 boats launched, 3 got an hour or more of good sailing in the rising breeze; unfortunately a snafu with the last FJ launched kept them from joining the fun. We made good use of capsize training! After all capsizing is part of small-boat sailing. However the fun got a little too intense... one boat had to be towed back and all had some difficulties returning to the beach.
If you've never been in a squall on open water, it is difficult to describe. First, you can barely see anything as the rain pelts you like 100 fire hoses (and it feels like the fire hoses are pumping golf balls at you). A warm summer breeze turns chilly. The waves, which were already big enough to bounce the FJs around, grew and became malevolent... the boats become difficult to steer and the deck seems to be trying to throw you off. It would be easy to panic as Mother Nature is now trying to GET you!
However, we have trained for this. There were a few problems, which could have been serious if not handled properly. We reinforced the lesson of "always stay with the boat" and also learned how to re-evaluate priorities when simple things become difficult. Most of all, we learned that teamwork is the key.
I apologize for not having pictures of the action during the squall. 1- we were all far too busy to take pictures... 2- I don't have an underwater camera.
posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King
